HEISENBERG at the Mark Taper Forum

Hoyt Hilsman  –  Huffington Post In the finest tradition of the theatrical two-hander, British playwright Simon Stephens (adapter of the Tony-award winning Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night) has imagined a random encounter between a forty-something eccentric woman and a very ordinary seventy-five year old butcher. Read more… Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly British playwright Simon … Read more

THE BODYGUARD at the Pantages Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Not many musicals literally start with a bang. In the case of The Bodyguard: the Musical, now playing at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, an opening gunshot was both very startling and pretty effective at getting the stragglers to settle into their seats. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines … Read more

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Antaeus Theatre Company

Paul Birchall  – Stage Raw Antaeus Theatre Company inaugurates their lovely new Glendale performance space with this tremendously stylish production of Tennessee Williams’ family drama. The play tells the story of a desperate woman named Maggie (the “cat” of the title) her depressed alcoholic husband Brick, and the battle for the estate of Brick’s father, … Read more

ZOOT SUIT at the Mark Taper Forum

Erin Conley – OnStage It is not every day that a hat receives entrance applause at the theater. However, it is also not every day that Zoot Suit returns to Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum, the very theater that commissioned and hosted its world premiere in 1978. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way … Read more

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at the Geffen Playhouse

Jonas Schwartz –  Arts In LA Mary Tyrone is the female Hamlet. She’s a role that measures an actress’ stamina, talent, and resourcefulness. No wonder many top-echelon actresses such as Jessica Lange, Katharine Hepburn, and Vanessa Redgrave jump at the role. This time, it’s Jane Kaczmarek who takes on the challenge….Read more… Pauline Adamek – … Read more

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at the Mark Taper Forum

Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Marie Mullen won the best actress Tony for the original Broadway production of  The Beauty Queen of Leenane as a tortured daughter. Now she has returned almost 20 years later to play the tormentor — her cruel, selfish mother. Read more… Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In 1998, The Druid Theatre Company’s … Read more

BLUE SKY at the Geffen Playhouse

Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly The marital problems of an upper-middle-class couple (with particular focus on the vague discontent of an adulterous wife) are the stuff of soap opera. Read more… Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania Broadway director John Rando brings the witty comedy Big Sky to the Geffen with a talented cast and a script that plays on conventions of … Read more

HEDDDA GABLER at the Antaeus Theatre Company

Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly If you’re someone who usually dismisses 19th-century theater classics as stuffy and stiff, you might want to reconsider and go see Hedda Gabler at Antaeus Theatre Company, where Jaimi Paige delivers a mesmerizing performance as the beautiful and manipulative title character. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Who is … Read more

THE CITY OF CONVERSATION at the Bram Goldsmith Theatre at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In one way, The City of Conversation can be seen as playwright’s paean to the bygone politics of 20th century America —in retrospect a fairer and far less brutal game than the one played today. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Plays usually center on a boiling-over point. “The City of Conversation” … Read more

IN & OF ITSELF at the Geffen Playhouse

Margaret Gray – LA Times The first time Derek DelGaudio performed at the Geffen Playhouse — in the 2012 show “Nothing to Hide,” which he created with co-star Helder Guimarães and director Neil Patrick Harris — DelGaudio ended up staying longer than expected: The magic act, originally slotted for a one-month run, packed the house for 18 weeks. Read more… … Read more